Following Football All Around The Globe

2016 – 17 La Liga season

For the first time since 2012, Real Madrid, the most successful club in Spain (and the world, for that matter) won the league title. If that wasn’t enough, they also conquered Europe for the third time in the last four years. Los Blancos, led by Zinedine Zidane in the sidelines and Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, survived a defeat in El Clásico against Barcelona in the last few rounds to win it all with authority.

Diego Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid came in third but did not pose a challenge to Real Madrid title race. Instead, Los Colchoneros had to hold off Sevilla for much of the season to gain a strong hold of the third place of the table.

Lionel Messi (Barcelona): Messi or Ronaldo. Ronaldo or Messi. It seems like every year the race comes down to these two otherworldly stars. The Portuguese striker could have been chosen in this spot because of his strong finish and the importance of his goals and performances, but the difference in goals (Messi’s 37 are significantly more than CR7’s 25) and assists (the Argentine had nine and the reigning Ballon D’Or winner just six) give Messi the edge.

Best defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, captain of a very good group and author of six goals with his head in the season), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid, world’s top right back), Marcelo (Real Madrid, the best at the left side), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), Diego Godín (Atlético de Madrid), Diego Reyes (Espanyol), Nicolás Pareja (Sevilla), Sergio Escudero (Sevilla).